A couple pulled the wool over their employer's eyes by involving themselves in a £45,000 scam stretching from New Zealand to China, a court heard.

Expert wool tester Philip Parkin and his partner Christina Irving produced false certificates while working for the Bradford branch of the New Zealand Wool Testing Authority (NZWTA).

Both pleaded guilty last month to 16 charges of forgery between July 9 2003 and March 18 2004.

Prosecutor Elyas Patel told Bradford Crown Court today that Parkin and Irving were in a relationship at the time and both working for the Wool Testing Authority's European office in Bradford.

Mr Patel said the forgeries led to a $90,000 (£45,600) loss for a Chinese company "hoodwinked" by a firm in Southern Ireland.

The court heard that Parkin, 52, of Brantcliffe Drive, Baildon, was sole employee when the Wool Testing Authority opened its Bradford office.

He trained in New Zealand for the £20,000 post and was responsible for issuing wool quality certificates.

In March 2001, Irving, 51, joined the payroll and the pair travelled onto the Continent together on company business.

Mr Patel said the Chinese Textile Resources Corporation bought wool from Dublin firm Texacloth based on Parkin's false quality certificates.

In 2004, the fraud began unravelling when concern was expressed in China that consignments of wool were not of the high quality on the certificates.

NZWTA boss Stephen Fookes travelled from New Zealand to China, then on to Baildon to meet Parkin who denied any knowledge of the fraud.

In July 2004, Parkin was suspended by NZWTA and the following month the police were alerted.

Parkin admitted issuing false certificates for Aidan Walsh at Texacloth, the court heard. He told officers they "weren't worth the paper they were written on".

Mr Walsh was arrested and questioned but no extradition proceedings were started.

Both Parkin and Irving, of Temple Riddings Drive, Baildon, deny being paid to forge the certificates.

Oliver Jarvis, for Parkin, said he had worked for 30 years in the wool testing trade and had no convictions for dishonesty.

He did not own up to his bosses because of "fear, panic and shame".

The father of two grown-up children, he was now working as a driver.

Anne-Marie Hutton, for Irving, said she was of good character and only became involved because of her relationship with Parkin.

Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC told Parkin: "I wonder what sentence you would receive in a Chinese court for such blatant dishonesty."

The judge said the conspiracy stretched from New Zealand to China, the UK and Southern Ireland.

Parkin had done untold damage to the reputation of the Wool Testing Authority "You have gained nothing and you have lost everything," the judge said.

Parkin was sentenced to a 12 month prison term suspended for two years and ordered to do 150 hours unpaid work.

Judge Durham Hall told Irving she was "remarkably misguided" to risk imprisonment and lose her good name.

She was sentenced to a community punishment order for 100 hours.

Both defendants were ordered to pay £500 legal costs.